


Bucky's Tiny Secrets

by FreckleLemonade



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Cute, Fluff and Humor, Gen, One Shot, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 11:06:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6903331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckleLemonade/pseuds/FreckleLemonade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky has a tiny, little secret... Or three.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bucky's Tiny Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh, Bucky fluff is my favourite thing to write... I hope you like it!  
> Feedback is always appreciated! <3

It was 6 a.m. as Steve Rogers yawned and opened the fridge, blinking at the bright light that flooded the kitchen.  It was the weekend and he had planned on skipping his morning jog to surprise his friends by making breakfast.  Specifically, he was going to make pancakes from an old recipe that his mother used to make on special occasions when he was a kid.

He gathered up most of the ingredients and rummaged around in the crowded fridge for the milk.  He could have sworn that there had been at least half a jug left when he checked to make sure he had everything last night.

"Where on earth..." He muttered to himself.

Suddenly there was a muffled crash from one the bedrooms and Steve immediately rushed down the hallway.  He stood still and listened carefully for a moment.  A strange shuffling noise came from Bucky's room.  Steve knew that Bucky had been having nightmares since he was rescued from HYDRA and came to live at Stark Tower a few months ago.  

He hid it pretty well from the others but Steve had been his best friend since they were children.  Of course, he noticed the dark circles under Bucky's eyes and heard the hushed whimpers coming from his room in the middle of the night.  Steve had tried to bring up the subject before but was met with a harsh dagger-like glare from the ex-assassin and decided to drop the issue.  At least until Bucky better adjusted to his new surroundings.

Another muffled crash shook Steve out of his thoughts and he carefully turned the handle and pushed the door open just enough to peek into the room.  The room was dark since the curtains were still pulled shut and Steve had to squint in order to see anything.  His eyes finally adjusted and there stood Bucky, holding two kittens in his left arm while another crawled on his right shoulder.  Some books were scattered on the floor and a desk lamp had been knocked over while Bucky struggled to keep the squirming animals in his arms.

"Stop that, you little hairball," he hissed as the kitten on his shoulder slipped a little, "You're digging your claws right into my skin."

He put the two kittens in his arm down into a cardboard box on the floor and gently plucked the third off his shoulder.  He held it in his metal hand and stroked it softly with the other.  For the first time since coming to the tower, Steve saw a tiny, lop-sided grin on Bucky's face as he looked down at the fuzzy creature in his hands.

As Steve watched the scene before him, one of the other kittens scrambled out of the box and wandered towards the door.  It looked up at him at mewed loudly.  Bucky's attention snapped to the door and his wide-eyed stare met Steve's.  With his cover blown, Steve pushed the door open wider and bent down to pick up the kitten at his feet.

"Uh, hi there, Buck," Steve cleared his throat, "I heard a noise and came to check on you."

Bucky just stared at Steve in the doorway, not knowing whether to dash past him or to stay and try to explain everything.  Steve saw him panicking a little and put on his best reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Bucky.  You're not in trouble."

Bucky nodded slightly and his tensed shoulders relaxed a bit.  He sat down on his bed with the kitten still in his palm.  Steve stepped into the room, gently pulled the door closed, and walked over to sit beside his best friend.  He glanced over to Bucky's night table and saw an empty milk jug sitting there.

"Well, that explains where all the milk went," Steve chuckled, "Where did you find these little guys, anyway?"

"Last night I went for a walk to clear my head after that 'episode' I had and saw them sitting in a box in an alleyway." Bucky explained, "They were so cold and I couldn't just leave them there so I snuck them home in my sweater last night while everyone was watching a movie."

Steve beamed at him.  The Winter Soldier likely wouldn't have cared what happened to the tiny creatures but this simple act of kindness told him that his best friend, James Buchanan Barnes, was still in that hard shell somewhere.  It was just going to take time.

The two super soldiers chatted about the kittens some more and were soon laughing as Bucky regaled stories about their antics last night.

"...and he climbed right up my bare leg while I was changing!  How does something this tiny and adorable have such wicked claws?"

Suddenly, in the middle of their stories and laughter, the two men heard the fridge door slam shut and Tony's voice yelled, "Where the hell does all the milk go in this house?  I just bought a new jug yesterday!"

Steve and Bucky both looked up and realized that they were only holding two of the three kittens.  The door was pushed open a tiny bit and Bucky looked at his best friend in alarm.

The next thing they heard was Tony's voice again.

"Ow!  What the hell is that?"

Bucky put the kitten he was holding into the box on the floor and rushed out the door, closely followed by Steve after he made sure the door was shut tightly behind him this time.

There, Tony stood in the kitchen, spinning around like a dog chasing its tail, trying to get a small kitten off of him as it sunk its tiny needle-like claws into the back of Tony's thigh.

"Jeez, don't just stand there, Capsicle!  Get this damned thing off of me!"

 

\-----

 

Extended Ending:

"So you're telling me that the Terminator over here saved a bunch of kittens and brought them back to his room and nursed them back to health?"

"Yes, Tony," Steve sighed, "That's exactly what I just told you."

"What's a 'Terminator?'"

Tony quirked an eyebrow at Bucky but shook his head, "Nevermind.  Okay, you can keep them on two conditions."

Bucky eyed Tony suspiciously, "What conditions?"

"Number one: They eat normal cat food and stop drinking all my milk."

Bucky nodded.

Tony smirked, "And number two: We name one of them Nick Furry."


End file.
